Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Claim
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When Heinrich said this, not only Caroline but even the guards behind him were stunned.
The Emperor had held the top spot on the Empire's most hated males by Omegas for a full twenty years, with no chance of ever marrying. Everyone figured he was destined to die alone. Some newspapers had even boldly speculated that he was "impotent" in some way, launching a heated debate over which battle injury had caused it—ultimately agreeing it must have been right at the start of the war, because the Galactic War had raged for nearly a century, and if he could, he'd have fathered a litter of kids by now.
Yet the Emperor's Alpha pheromones were undeniably potent, a fact acknowledged across the Empire. This showed not just in his own formidable physique but in his natural intimidation of Omegas—for instance, the time he'd visited the capital hospital and scared a group of Omega children to tears, prompting their parents to run a protest ad in the papers for three straight months.
For such a hyper-masculine Alpha to lack an Omega was nothing short of a human tragedy.
Parliament was waiting. The military was hoping. The citizenry gossiped endlessly about it. Now the Emperor had finally declared interest in an Omega, and the guards' first reaction was pure elation!
Anyone who dared block His Majesty from having heirs was the Empire's enemy!
“…But Your Majesty,” Caroline could never have anticipated this turn of events, her face draining of color. “If it's about that kind of thing, then that student is still too young in terms of age…”
“He's already of age, isn't he?” Heinrich said flatly. “Or do you want to fetch his documents so We can personally verify the date of birth?”
—Of course Caroline didn't dare. She could only argue futilely, “Even setting all that aside, if Your Majesty wishes to bond, Imperial law requires applying to the Protection Association for the queue first, then undergoing genetic screening, followed by matching…”
“Changed.”
“What?”
“That law has been changed.” Heinrich thought for a moment before adding, “Half an hour ago, when We arrived.”
Caroline: “…”
The Emperor fixed her with an icy stare, his gaze brimming with threat.
Caroline realized he had come prepared this time, dead set on his goal. She had already lost this round.
There might have been a chance to salvage things in the Alliance, but this was the Empire—where the sovereign's will was absolute. She couldn't openly defy the Emperor in front of so many people.
“…I shall obey Your Majesty's decree.” At last she said, “But I have one small request.”
“—Oh?”
“That student is very young. I'd like to ask his opinion first. Of course, he surely won't refuse Your Majesty's favor, but if he has other ideas of his own…”
“Very well,” the Emperor said offhandedly. “Go ahead and ask.”
Caroline hadn't even turned around when she heard him add, “—And bring him here while you're at it. We wish to ask personally!”
Caroline sent an instructor to fetch Gavin. While waiting, countless thoughts raced through her mind.
Hint to Gavin that he should run? Send him away? That was obviously impossible. First, without his Griffin, he wouldn't get far. Second, the Emperor might seize the excuse to search the school—or even forcibly take Phoenix away—and the consequences would be unforeseeable.
Don't even say the Emperor couldn't do that. In fact, the law allowed the Emperor to unilaterally and unconditionally select a mate by force. If everything strictly followed the constitution, Heinrich actually enjoyed vast privileges. He could wield absolute power like the emperors of ancient Earth, even sidelining Parliament entirely.
But the Emperor chose not to. The Empire's parliamentary system as it existed today was largely the result of Heinrich's own self-restraint.
Gavin arrived quickly, in less than the time it took to eat a meal, riding over in the instructor's hovercar. Caroline watched him step out of the vehicle, his face showing no expression whatsoever, and her heart tightened even more.
The guards, meanwhile, craned their necks, eager to catch a glimpse of the Omega the Emperor had chosen.
Gavin wore an ordinary T-shirt and long pants, his face pale, his hair jet-black, his eyes calm and unruffled. The magnificent scene before him elicited no reaction at all. He simply gazed steadily at the Emperor, then shut the car door with a resounding slam.
In that instant, his movement was eerily like Celia's, and the Emperor averted his eyes for a split second.
Caroline stepped forward first, asking in front of everyone, “Gavin, you've surely heard about this by now. His Majesty wants to take you back to the palace. Are you willing?”
She paused, then said firmly, “If not, just shake your head. It's fine.”
The guards erupted in immediate uproar.
Heinrich jolted at the sound of “Gavin,” but said nothing, a cold smile curling his lips instead.
Gavin remained expressionless from start to finish, shifting his gaze from Caroline's barely concealed look of worry to Heinrich. The scene hung in frozen silence until, moments later, he actually nodded, turned, and extended his hand to Heinrich.
Everyone was caught completely off guard.
But the guards heaved a collective sigh of relief right after, many of them breaking into joyful expressions.
Heinrich laughed. He even gave a courteous half-bow and took hold of Gavin's hand. “Excellent. Then come with me.”
Caroline turned away, unwilling to see the smug satisfaction in his eyes.
In truth, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The moment Caroline looked away, Gavin smoothly gripped back, clamping down hard on the Emperor's wrist—right over the pitch-black Bi'an—
If there had been a scanner, it would have shown his mental threshold spiking to the max in that instant!
Heinrich's face changed!
A torrent of powerful mental output surged forth like a tidal wave, overwhelming the mecha's mental lock in seconds and attempting to seize control outright. Heinrich sensed something wrong at once and snapped his wrist with a sharp crack, grabbing Gavin's fingers!
The two immense mental forces clashed head-on within the mecha system, turning the Bi'an's color from deep black to pure gold in an instant. Just as Gavin tried to wrench free, the Bi'an suddenly deformed into a sharp spike and thrust through his palm with lightning speed!
Blood spurted from the needle-like puncture. Gavin's body went numb, and before he could collapse, Heinrich caught him and pulled him into his arms.
That was exactly when Caroline happened to look back. Heinrich yanked Gavin close and strode toward the shuttle.
Intimate as the posture was, it was hardly unusual between an Alpha and Omega on the verge of bonding. The guards all respectfully bowed their heads. No one saw that both Heinrich and Gavin's faces were ashen, the former pressing down hard on the latter's palm—yet a trickle of fresh blood still seeped slowly from between his fingers.
“—Stay right there!” Heinrich shoved Gavin into the shuttle, then climbed in after him and slammed the hatch shut with a heavy thud.
Several guards moved to follow per protocol, but as they cracked open the door, they saw the Emperor's foul expression. “Don't come in!”
The guards exchanged glances. Though clueless as to what had happened, they obediently withdrew at once.
The Emperor's shuttle slowly lifted off, then rocketed toward the palace on Egret Star.
Inside the shuttle cabin, the two of them were alone. Heinrich stared at Gavin's face for a long moment before suddenly reaching out and viciously pinching his jaw!
The piercing pain lanced into his brain like lightning. Gavin let out an unprepared, hoarse “ah!”
“You can talk, can't you?” Heinrich leaned in close, asking coldly. “What's your real name?”
“…” With his jaw forcibly gripped, Gavin squinted slightly from the pain. After a few seconds of deadlock, he suddenly kicked out, sending the Emperor sprawling!
A massive crash rang out as Heinrich fell flat on his back across the seat. Gavin pounced, landing a fist square in his face. The two tumbled from the seats to the floor. Heinrich was dragged by the collar and bashed against the hatch several times before retaliating with a brutal knee, flipping Gavin over and pinning him down. “What the hell is your name! Huh?!”
Gavin drove an elbow into his face, knocking it aside. Coldly, he said, “My mom said not to fight unless I have to. Be a good person.”
Heinrich: “…”
Blood streamed from Heinrich's nose. A few seconds later, to his horror, he caught a whiff of something sickly sweet—Omega pheromones.
Omega pheromones: that half-melted honeyed sweetness, the very culprit that set every Alpha's blood ablaze and turned them into ravening beasts.
The Emperor scrambled up and retreated to one side in a panic. Realizing it still wasn't enough, he commanded the Bi'an to morph into a metal rope, binding Gavin up tight. Unlike the more manageable Griffin, the Bi'an left Gavin no room to fight back. Clothes disheveled, he was reverse-bound to the rear seat, his gaze toward Heinrich radiating pure enmity.
The Emperor paced back and forth in the cabin like a caged animal, making two full circuits before suddenly feeling as if he should be the one tied up. Unable to help himself, he grabbed Gavin and sniffed him all over, lingering longest at the nape of his neck—as if dying to sink his teeth into that soft flesh. Then, beyond his control, he pinned Gavin against the seatback, rubbing and nuzzling fiercely while his eyes burned red, roving over him as though ready to pounce and devour him alive.
Gavin was pinned immobile by the overwhelming Alpha scent. Deep inside, the Omega nerve stirred faintly, hypersensitive to Heinrich's pheromones. No matter how he held his breath, he couldn't block the tendrils slipping into his nostrils.
His brain grew foggy, his body even softening a little—though the metal bonds mercifully hid it.
“You're really named Gavin?” While he still clung to reason, Heinrich forced himself back half a step and asked through gritted teeth.
This time, Gavin gave a slight nod.
“…What's your family name?!”
“Don't know.”
Heinrich's thoughts were a jumble, myriad guesses flashing through his mind: The Omega Aaron had captured on Red Soil Star was named Gavin too—was it the same one? No, wait—they looked nothing alike, and Gavin was a pretty common name... Could he be a clone Edna made from Celia's genes? But how could a clone link with Phoenix? Did Phoenix think he was Celia?
It was too chaotic. Heinrich drew a deep breath, quashing a certain stirring impulse at the bottom of his heart.
—If he's a clone, they don't have rights anyway. Maybe I could just...
—Wait, Heinrich. How can you even think that? Have you abandoned every shred of basic morality?!
The Emperor's face cycled through shades of green and red. After a long moment, he slammed a fierce fist into the wall.
The pain thankfully sharpened his awareness. He quickly shrugged off his jacket and wrapped Gavin up tight in it. Once he was sure no more scent could leak out, he turned without a backward glance, retreating to the farthest seat in the forward cabin.